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DougyChapter OneIntroduction to the town small town with an aboriginal population. We hear the story of theMoodagudda, a dreamtime story about a spirit in the river. Introduction to the characters Gracey (Dougys big sister and his friend, a runner), Raymond (loves rugby, big brother, tryingto sneak a drink of grog), Johnny Warren (another aboriginal kid, a bad reputation amongstthe white community), Dougys dad (a drunk, hardly ever around, tells the story of theMoodagudda), Dougys mother (strict, doesnt like it when dad is drunk, but in first chaptershe is laughing along with the story, doesnt believe the Moodagudda is real), Cooper (drivesa red panel van, white guy, his dad lives by the river in a shack, has many visits from the localpolice because he keeps bashin his dad), Dougy (an aboriginal kid, feels that he is invisiblebecause people seem to look straight through him, a bag of bones, a no-hoper, scared of thestory about the Moodagudda, walks his drunk father home too scared to put his back to theriver, he tells us he is the only one who gets to see the Moodagudda).

Chapter Two

Live near Cunningham about an hour (two stubbies) away. Mr Jenkins comes everyweekend to train Gracey in her running. Paddy OShea comes to pick up the rent from thehouses along Sesame Street always gets his money from Dougys house. Mr Jenkins tellsGracey about the State Championships in Brisbane, and starts trying to organise somefunding. All Graceys friends are celebrating her good news until they tell their parents theparents tell the children that it isnt fair, that the government gives too much money to theblack people. Dougys family are all going to go to Brisbane to see Gracey race.

Chapter ThreeOn the train to Brisbane. Dougy uncomfortable but happy to be experiencing new things.Very excited to be on a train and is constantly looking out through the window. Dougy has avision of yellow faces staring at him from the field (sunflowers). On arriving in Brisbane,Dougy is concerned because they are the only aboriginal people he can see. They catch a

taxi to their hostel. The taxi driver asks for money before they ride because he thinks theywont be able to pay. Steve meets them at the hostel, and offers to drive them around. Hetakes them to the running track for Gracey to have a practice. Steve takes Raymond andDougy to look at Lang Park (the rugby field). Raymond thinks the trip to the field is the bestthing ever and tells them that he will play there one day. Merv gets upset that they wereallowed into the park and tells them to leave. Dougy is upset because there is no way thatRaymond would have done anything to harm even a blade of grass in the holiest of holies.

Chapter FourSteve offers to drive the family to the track for the first race but they end up running late.Gracey goes straight to the starting line and registers to race. She is nervous about the raceand blows chunks on some random lady. Her shoes, a gift from Mr. Jenkins, are designed forracing on grass not on the special red surface of the track and she is not allowed to race in

them. She races barefoot and wins. Gracey makes a new friend, Tanya, who came secondin the championships last year.

Chapter FiveGracey and Mum sit up late talking about the race. Gracey is concerned that there are highexpectations of her because she is an aborigine. There are nine girls in Graceys final race.Mum, Raymond and Dougy go to the finish line so that they can see who will win the race.The whole crowd is watching and even mum is yelling for Gracey. Gracey is State Championand everyone celebrates except for Tanya, who is upset to be beaten again. Gracey isinterviewed by some journalists and the boys get in the photo for the newspaper. MrsGranello offers Gracey a scholarship to Hamilton College in Brisbane, the same schoolMelissa Brodie has been going to. All her school fees will be paid, and even travel home inthe school holidays, as long as Gracey will train and race for the College. The newspaper

article comes out the next day and everyone is very excited. Gracey sees another article inthe paper that shows a drunken Melissa Brodie being taken away by police after sneaking outof school.

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Chapter SixMelissa Brodie is flown home from Brisbane to her very angry parents, but everyone in thetown was so excited that someone from their town was famous. Paddy OShea is worriedabout Gracey leaving her family to go and live in Brisbane he relates the scholarship to theStolen Generation, families torn apart. He thinks the school will try to turn her into a white

girl, but Graceys mum thinks it is a great opportunity for her to get out of the small town.Mum starts to tell people about the scholarship once all the paperwork has been done andshe is sure that Gracey will be going to the new school. Again the people in the town startcomplaining about the aboriginal people getting handouts from the government, and the kidson the school bus are all upset again, and Gracey is concerned about taking the scholarshipbecause of the reactions of her schoolmates from Cunningham, and because she is afraid ofbeing the only aboriginal kid in the school. Mum tells her that the opportunity is too good topass up, that she shouldnt want to stay in the town. Dougy starts thinking about what theMoodagudda will do if Gracey tries to leave town. Even though Dougy doesnt want his sisterto leave town he encourages her to take the opportunity and finally convinces her that it is thebest thing to do, but he is worried that the Moodagudda will try to stop her from going.

Chapter Seven

Mum sends off the papers for the scholarship. People in town are worried about the lack ofrain worried it might be the start of a drought. Melissa Brodie wants to learn to ridemotorbikes but her dad announces that he will not let anyone in to his pub if they take herriding. Mum decides that Graceys scholarship is so important that it should be celebrated bythe whole town, and books the local hall for the party. Rains hardly reached the town, but theriver was set to swell after rains had dumped up stream, and the town begins to work togetherto sandbag the river bank to stop the rising waters from entering the town. Trucks ferriedsand from the sandhills to bring to workers along the riverbank. On the third trip back withsand, the drivers brought news that Melissa Brodie had been found unconscious in thesandhills. No one knew what had happened to her but questions start flying until someoneasks who could have done something to hurt her. Soon the conversation turned to findingblame and the finger was pointed at the aboriginal people who sometimes went to thesandhills to drink. Cooper arrives then and informs the people that he saw Johnny Warren

roaming that morning.

Chapter EightMum goes to Cunningham to buy some things for the party in the hall. Mr Price, the policeofficer, goes to Johnny Warrens house, to ask him some questions. Cooper is there too, andwants Mr Price to search the house for Johnny. Mr Price does not have a warrant andrefuses, he thinks they should wait until Melissa wakes up in hospital and tells them just whathappened. Cooper drives his red panel van to Sesame Street, and is followed by somefriends in a four wheel drive. They begin going house to house to try to find where JohnnyWarren is hiding. They come to one house, where Curly Ross is waiting on the veranda witha gun, refusing the white men entry. One of the white men also pulls out a rifle and there is astandoff. Without warning one of the guns goes off no one can say who fired but everyoneruns off. Gracey and Dougy are unable to get to their house and head off instead towards the

town hall. Craig and Brett also run to the hall, and the divide between blacks and whites isevident even between friends, as they face off against each other. Craig decides to headhome to be with his family, and Brett goes into town to try to contact his father.

Chapter NineRaymond slides into the hall, eager to share the news that he has been sent to spy on thewhites, to keep an eye out to make sure that they dont sneak up. Brett returns without hisfather who is still in Cunningham. Mr Price was about to go and find out what the shot wasabout and Brett told him what had happened. Brett tells Gracey, Raymond and Dougy howCooper arrived at the police station and told his side of the story. He thinks the whole townhas gone mad, and there are enough guns to start a war. Cooper had left one of his guys atthe station to make sure Mr Price stays out of the fight. Raymond shares the news that thephone lines have been cut so that no one can call for help. Brett and Raymond start arguing

and nearly start their own fight but Gracey steps in to calm them down. Shots are heard covering fire for a group of white men creeping forward to the protection of a brick near the

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teachers house along Sesame Street. As soon as the men arrived, the teachers beganshooting at the fence and the men leave.

Chapter TenTiny is spotted riding his bike along the main street, apparently checking the rising waterlevel. He is shot at and thinks that he has a puncture. Gracey runs out from the hall and

stands in the line of fire to protect him. She convinces Tiny to run to the hall with her, andtells him what has been happening. Tiny explains what had really happened that MelissaBrodie had been riding his motorbike and refused to wear a helmet. She had fallen and hither head, but started to walk home, seemingly unhurt. Tiny was worried about what wouldhappen if Mr Brodie found out especially after his threats in the pub and didnt want to goand spread the word.

Chapter ElevenThe water is rising. Dougy, watching islands form and disappear realised that the first housesto flood will be the ones along Sesame Street the lowest houses in the town. Coopercomes to the hall and tries to burst his way in. Gracey and the others hold them off for awhile by barricading the doors, but Cooper soon returns with Ron Kendall and they climb inthrough a window from the bonnet of the four wheel drive. Both men have rifles. Cooper

holds his out, allowing aiming across the young people, Kendall allows his to hang by hisside. Brett tries to tell the men what Tiny has told them about Melissa Brodie, but Cooperalready knows there had been a phone call before the lines were cut; Melissa had woken upand told them what had happened. The young people try to work out why Cooper would keepon trying to fight when he knows Johnny Warren had nothing to do with Melissa. Cooper istired of Aboriginal people being given everything. Gracey argues with Cooper, trying tomake him see sense, but Cooper shuts her down by making all the young people move intothe kitchen. Kendall and Cooper keep talking about their plans and it becomes obvious thatthey are in the hall because they think it will be the best place for them to start shooting theAboriginals as they try to leave their houses as the river rises. The young people feelhopeless, knowing this and being unable to do anything about it. Raymond again wishes hehad a gun to even things up a bit. Dougy starts thinking again about the Moodagudda. Theriver is the Moodaguddas home, and now the river is rising, the Moodagudda can come into

town too, searching for people, and it was starting to get dark.

Chapter TwelveCooper leaves to get more people, and Kendall stays in the hall to watch over Gracey, Dougy,Raymond, Tiny and Brett. The young people decide to try to convince Kendall to talk to thewhites. Gracey speaks with Kendall, to organise a truce. Cooper comes back to the hall andis annoyed that Kendall has allowed the young people to talk to him. Kendall tries to speakwith Cooper to try to make him understand that the war needs to end. While theyre talkingRaymond sneaks forward and tackles Cooper to the ground, knocking Kendall down. Theyboth drop their guns. Raymond grabs a gun, and calls to Gracey to grab the other gun.Gracey kicks the gun away and calls to Raymond to give the gun back. Cooper and Kendallthink the kids have tricked them, that they didnt want a truce, they just wanted the weapons.Kendall is angry with Raymond but tries to calm him down and get the gun back. Raymond is

nervous. He thought that having a gun would make everyone listen to him. Kendall stepstowards Raymond, and Raymond steps back. Kendall tries to talk to him, and says thatRaymond wont shoot him. The gun goes off, and Kendall falls to the floor. Cooper goesstraight for the gun; Gracey runs past him and dives for the gun. She pushes the gun awaybut slides into chairs and breaks her collarbone. Cooper doesnt hang around, he runs off.Raymond checks on Kendall, who has started screaming from shock and pain. They allrealise how badly hurt Kendall is and he slowly bleeds to death. Raymond keeps trying tothink of ways to revive him, but Gracey tells him there is no point.

Chapter ThirteenRaymond is in shock and will not leave Kendalls body. Tiny is accusing Raymond of murder.Raymond tries to defend himself and tries to remind them of what had happened alreadytheir ideas of what happened are different. Brett makes a sling for Graceys arm. Coopers

friends come to pick up the Kendall. Tiny wants to go with them, but Brett wants to staybecause he thinks the whites will not shoot while Brett is in the hall. They decide to try firing

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warning shots to keep the guys away from the hall, but the sound from the rifle madeRaymond scream and he retrieved the gun and returned to Kendalls side. Bretts Mumcomes by dinghy with Mr Price and takes Brett home. Mr Price lets them know that ahelicopter is coming and they should get on the roof if the water continues to rise. Brettassures Raymond that he will tell his father what really happened in the hall.

Chapter FourteenThe water is rising, Gracey and Dougy move to the stage, but Raymond will not leave thebody; he doesnt even care if he drowns, and keeps maintaining that he didnt mean to shootKendall. They finally convince Raymond to move higher, but the water is getting higher andthey need to organise somewhere else to go. Gracey and Dougy try to find a way into theceiling. They remember the manhole in the ceiling at home, and find a broom to locate themanhole in the hall ceiling. Gracey praises Dougy when he finds the manhole but now haveto find a way to climb into the ceiling. They move a table and then stack some chairs to reachthe hole, but they will need to pull themselves up. Dougy annoys Raymond until he finallyhelps Dougy to raise Gracey into the roof. Dougy will not give up; he keeps trying until hemanages to get his family to the safety of the ceiling.

Chapter Fifteen

Dougy and Gracey reflect on what has been happening. Dougy tells Gracey that he needsher help, but she is in too much pain to think clearly. She is tired and goes to sleep. Dougyhears the sound of the helicopter, and is annoyed with himself for not thinking of a way ontothe roof so that they were ready to be rescued. Dougy starts to realise that he needs to thinkof a solution himself he needs to rely on himself. Being in this situation has started Dougythinking about what is going to happen to him. Dougy thinks of the gun and decides to try toshoot the screws holding the tin down to get out through the roof. He climbs back downthrough the manhole, stands on the chairs and lowers himself into the cold water, which hasrisen higher. He heads to Kendalls body, where he had last seen the rifle. He has to divedeep under the water and uses Kendalls body as a guide. He finally finds the gun and headsback to the manhole. The tables and chairs have moved so he has to think again of how hecan get up. He throws the gun through the manhole and starts to try to lift the table onto itsend to climb back into the ceiling. It takes him some time, but he is successful.

Chapter SixteenNow Dougy has the rifle with him, he and Gracey have to work out how to work the rifletogether. They manage to load the rifle and Dougy shoots out the screws. Raymond is againupset by the sound of the rifle going off so Dougy calmly explains what he is doing. He isable to lift a piece of tin high enough to allow them to squeeze through to get out onto theroof, but Raymond still will not budge. There is a weak torchlight shining on them and theyduck down just in time to avoid a bullet. Gracey thinks it must be Cooper keeping watch onthem, not wanting to give up until he has killed them. They stay out of the light, but they dontwant to miss the helicopter. Gracey calls out to where she thinks Cooper is, but he doesntrespond. They hear the sound of a house collapsing under the strain of the flooded river, andthe cry of Coopers voice. The helicopter comes to the roof of the hall and shines the light tofind Dougy. The Moodagudda surely couldnt get them nowbut Dougy sees a figure, rising

out of the water, grab Graceys hair and drag her back into the water. Dougy tries to tell therescuers to save Gracey but the helicopter is just too loud and he struggles until the manknocks him out. Even in the helicopter the rescuers cant catch Dougys story about Graceyand the Moodagudda, but they eventually take the risk to find Gracey clinging to a tree andbring her to safety.

Chapter SeventeenIn hospital Gracey tells Dougy that it was Cooper who had pulled her back into the water, butshe allows Dougy to tell everyone (except Raymond) his story of seeing the Moodagudda.This story is the only one told about the war, except for Bretts account for his father.Sergeant Graves took care of Kendalls body. The town is declared dead. Paddy OSheafinds a house for Dougys family in Cunningham and Dougy goes back to school highschool.

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